A Day That Will Never Be Forgotten (Terrorists Attacks Of September 11)

Bare with me for a second while I ask you this. We all sadly know what 9/11 is, but would you like to be in the thick of that whole shebang? Picture me this, you’re working in an office in the world trade center in New York. It’s a bright sunny day, it’s 8: 50 in the morning and you’ve been spending your morning as normal until the building around you shakes, you have no idea what happened yet, you think maybe it’s something else, unaware of the danger you’re in. You’re on the 5th highest floor, people run to your office area telling your team what happened but when you try to leave. You can’t. You realise just what happened. Your country was under attack. With no way down, you accept your fate. Either Burn, jump or be compressed  in the falling building. All three are 100% fatal… there is no survival. Your country will not forget you, especially the Government. Hours later, The President, George Walker Bush addressed the nation. 

The morning of Tuesday September 11th 2001 started like any other day, people got up for work, people ate breakfast, some were already working. It was a calm morning in Lower Manhattan, some clouds, blue skies, the sun rising, the busy streets, a normal day in New York City, then all of a sudden firefighters working on a manhole looked up to see a Boeing 767-223ER strike into 1WTC, this flight was American Airlines Flight 11, All 92 people on board were vaporized instantly. That was the start of the first attack on American soil since the war of 1812. Three Buildings were struck by Airliners, 1WTC, 2WTC, and The Pentagon. Later that day The 43rd President of the United States, George Walker Bush gave an address in the oval office addressing the situations that had arisen during the day.

Furthermore during that speech President Bush uses multiple appeals to the American people, one of them being the appeal to emotion or professionally known as “Pathos.” During the speech President Bush states “Tonight I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened.” (Bush, 10) He states this because he knew what had happened, he knew that lives were lost. He knew that families would have 1 more seat than needed at the dinner table, he knew that Mothers, Fathers, Sisters, Brothers, Sons, Daughters, and more were deceased and he needed to address his people. This really shows the tone of the day. He had to remain calm and collected while delivering somber news. This appeal helped his speech by hitting his citizens in their soft spot, their hearts. 

Consequently,  He uses another point to convey a message. He uses an appeal to logical reasoning, widely known to many as “Logos.” Earlier in his speech the former President Bush states “Our military is powerful, and it’s prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington, DC, to help with local rescue efforts” (Bush, 5) He says this because he is stating a well known fact. To begin with his first point that our military is strong and prepared, he is correct in saying this because for decades America’s military had been one of the top armed forces in the entire world. Our DEFCON system allows our military to be ready to attack in 45 minutes, anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world. By stating that he assures the American people that these acts will be met with fire and fury unseen before in the history of this earth, Days later, US Troops land in the middle east starting a 19 year long conflict still ongoing under Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. 

Remember the story I shared at the beginning? Would you like to be a part of that, would you want anyone to be a part of that horrendous event? Sadly, this is the reality of the situation, people didn’t ask, they were attacked simply because the wrong people knew that we are the best nation on earth, a beacon of freedom, a place where you live without (too) much interference from the government. From the revolution to the present we have let freedom ring. 

Works Cited

Eidenmuller, Michael E. George W. Bush - Address to the Nation on 9-11-01 - The Rhetoric of 9/11, www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gwbush911addresstothenation.htm.